A frown appeared on Liam's face as he suddenly stood up. "I transformed! It's not a dream!" he exclaimed, lifting Lily into the air. "Beauty, I just talked! The thing you gave me turned my dream into reality!" He spun her around with excitement.
Lily tried to remain calm, already feeling dizzy. "Li... Liam, calm... calm down; I'm dizzy," she confessed.
Liam immediately set Lily down on the bed and looked into her eyes, a grin spreading across his face, excitement visible in every feature.
Lily's heart quickened. "How can I not have a heart attack with this guy's stunning appearance?" she thought, desperately trying to avoid his gaze.
"Beauty... thank you," Liam remarked, suddenly hugging her tightly.
"Eh, no... no need to thank me. You... you just got lucky," Lily stammered.
Liam smiled and looked at Lily. "Beauty, will you let me mate with you now? You promised me that once I transformed back, I would be the third to mate with you," he said, gazing at her with a childlike expression.
Lily's heart raced even faster. "Can I even escape this?" she thought, forcing a smile. "Why... why don't you eat first? We'll talk about this later." Before she could finish her sentence, Liam pressed his lips against hers.
"I don't want to," he replied, his breath warm against her. Before Lily could protest, he pressed her down.
.....
"That's enough already; I need to bathe!" Lily's weak voice echoed, cutting through the moment.
Liam looked at her and smiled. "Look, my mark is here!" he exclaimed happily, pointing at the slowly forming fox tattoo that took shape on Lily's right breast.
Lily was at a loss. She gazed at it, unable to shake her suspicion of Liam. "You tell me honestly, is it a coincidence or what?" she shot him a suspicious glare.
Liam lowered his head slightly. "During the time when I was weak, whenever you carried me on your chest, I... I always mixed a drop of my blood into your chest. This way, my mark would be there after I mated with you. But believe me, I didn't hurt you. I just thought that if I didn't become the third to mate with you, someone else's mark wouldn't be there," he explained. "Beauty, are you angry?" He blinked at her cutely.
Lily pursed her lips together, unsure of what to say. "I knew you were up to something, but anyway, it's fine—not a big deal," she smiled. "You are really a perverted baby boy," she chastised inwardly.
Liam beamed happily and hugged Lily. "I knew you wouldn't be angry!" he shouted and kissed her. "I'm going to bathe you, okay?"
Lily was still smiling at Liam's childish behavior, but hearing his last statement, her smile froze immediately. "Bath who?" she questioned, her eyes wide with disbelief.
"You," Liam replied innocently.
"It's not like I'm crippled now. Why the need to bathe me?" she questioned, feeling completely at a loss.
"You are weak; you need someone to take care of you," Liam asserted innocently.
"No need! I can do it myself— but wait..." Lily noticed something and narrowed her brows. "There seems to be something missing on you." She studied him closely but just couldn't figure out what it was.
Liam chuckled handsomely. "Beauty is really awesome; she always pays attention to me," he thought, then kissed her cheek. "It's my tail," he murmured.
Lily's brows knitted together as she looked behind him and indeed found that his tail was missing. "Where is it?" she queried.
Just after her question, nine fluffy, beautiful white fox tails appeared behind Liam. They looked majestic and enchanting, evoking an urge to hug him.
"Beauty, I not only transformed back, but I've also leveled up to the last level of power. I can protect you now!" he proclaimed proudly.
Lily breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good then. I will go and bathe first; don't follow me," Lily stated as she hopped off the bed.
Liam chuckled happily.
.....
As Lily and Liam exited the room, they found Art, Malik, and Grant standing at the entrance with strange expressions on their faces.
Seeing them, Lily could roughly understand what they were thinking. She lightly rubbed her nose in embarrassment. "Err, you guys... sorry for keeping you waiting," she cleared her throat and said.
All eyes shifted to Liam, and murderous intent locked onto him.
Lily noticed the tense atmosphere and lightly coughed. "Guys, he's Liam," she explained.
A shocked expression crossed everyone's face. "Angel, Liam isn't like this before," Malik spoke suspiciously.
"Err... he has changed now because he has gained back his power and leveled up," Lily explained.
Everyone fell silent, but Grant's eyes locked onto Liam as if he were his old enemy. His expression wasn't this cold even when faced with Angus.
"Grant, what happened?" Lily inquired, noticing Grant's animosity.
Grant locked eyes with Lily and smiled. "Nothing," he replied, but then walked closer. "You should eat something; you must be feeling weak already," he suggested. Just before he could reach her, Lily was suddenly carried by Liam.
"I can carry her; I have hands," he declared.
Grant ran out of patience, and his wings suddenly unfurled, spreading wide. His eyes held deep hatred, and he looked ready to tear Liam apart.
Liam wasn't the least bit frightened by Grant's deadly aura. Instead, a provocative smirk crossed his face, which only aggravated Grant further.
"What's wrong with both of them? They're acting weird," Lily thought. "You both—" Lily began, but Liam flashed her a sweet smile.
"You should eat something first," Liam remarked, passing by Grant and deliberately bumping him aside with his shoulder.
Grant gritted his teeth together but soon took a deep breath to calm his anger.
Everyone began eating, and soon they all finished. Malik took on the task of washing all the plates. After everything was done, everyone settled down.
"One after the other, you all should tell me your date of birth," Lily announced, a jotter and pen appearing in her hand. "Malik, you go first."
Malik scratched the back of his head. "Date of birth?" he repeated.
Lily raised her head and stared at him. "The day you were born, the month, and the year," she clarified.
"Oh," Malik nodded in understanding. "I was born on the seventh night of three repeatedly white moons, in the two thousand and six repeated blood moons," he replied.
Lily remained silent for a long time, calmly calculating the day. "So you were born on the seventh of March, two thousand and six," she stated, nodding her head to register the date. "If someone asks you of your age, you would say you are twenty-six years old," she added.
"Twenty-six years old," Malik repeated, nodding again. "I am twenty-six years old," he smiled.
Lily nodded and then looked at Grant. "Tell me yours," she prompted.
"I was born on the twenty-third noon of seven repeatedly white moons, in a thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight red moons," Grant responded.
"Oh... 23/7/1998... not bad," she complimented, registering his age as well. "Your age is twenty-eight," she confirmed.
Grant smiled charmingly.
"Art, tell me yours," Lily continued.
"Same as Grant; it's just that mine is fifth morning," Art replied.
"5/7/1998," Lily noted. "Your age is the same as Grant's—28," she said.
Art nodded in agreement.
"Liam, let me know your date of birth," she asked.
"Err," Liam scratched the back of his head. "I was born on the fifth night of five repeatedly white moons, in the two thousand and eight red moons," he answered.
Lily nodded her head and registered it. "05/05/2008," she commented, and suddenly realization dawned upon her, her eyes widening in shock. "Liam!" she exclaimed.
"Beauty," Liam responded casually.
"Repeat your date of birth; I think you made a mistake."